Austria’s Freedom Party conceded defeat on Sunday in its bid to elect Europe’s first far-right president, as projections showed its candidate Norbert Hofer lagging behind in a bitterly fought election re-run.

Greens-backed independent Alexander Van der Bellen, 72, swept 53.6 per cent of the votes, while his rival of the anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPOe) received 46.4 per cent, projections showed.

The official result of the marathon presidential election, which lasted nearly a year, is not expected before Monday, but the party conceded defeat within minutes of the poll projections being released, shortly after voting ended.